Musician Rufus Wainwright, pictured here in Ottawa in 2022, says he was "horrified" to learn that Donald Trump played his version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" on Monday during his presidential campaign in Pennsylvania.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
The question when it comes to U.S. presidential campaign music is simple: Are we better off today than we were four years ago? The answer in 2024 is an unequivocal “nope.”
At his town hall in suburban Philadelphia on Monday, Donald Trump bizarrely abandoned the planned format just 30 minutes into the event. “Let’s not do any more questions,” the presidential candidate decided. “Let’s just listen to music.”
Which is what happened. An eclectic playlist blared through the PA system: Schubert’s Ave Maria; Guns N’ Roses’ November Rain; An American Trilogy by Elvis Presley; Nothing Compares 2 U by Sinéad O’Connor; Hallelujah by Rufus Wainwright; and more. All the while, Trump swayed and bobbed on stage for an uncomfortably long period of time, seemingly lost in melodic reverie.
On X, his national press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, referred to the 78-year-old former president as “DJ Trump,” adding that he was “absolutely vibing” to the Village People’s Y.M.C.A.
Not feeling the vibe was Wainwright, a Canadian-American artist and Kamala Harris supporter who on Tuesday issued a statement on the use of his version of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. “Of course, I in no way condone this and was mortified, but the good in me hopes that perhaps in inhabiting and really listening to the lyrics of Cohen’s masterpiece, Donald Trump just might experience a hint of remorse over what he’s caused. I’m not holding my breath.”
Trump has a history with Hallelujah. In 2020, the Cohen estate said it was “exploring legal options” against the campaign after the ode was played during the Republican National Convention. After Monday’s event, the publishing company for the Cohen estate has now sent the Trump campaign a cease-and-desist letter.
Trump’s legal team already has a bulging folder full of such communications. Objections to his use of tunes have come from Foo Fighters (for My Hero); ABBA (The Winner Takes It All); the estate O’Connor (Prince’s Nothing Compares 2 U); the family of the late Isaac Hayes (Sam & Dave’s Hold On, I’m Comin’); and Celine Dion (My Heart Will Go On).
In order to use a song at a live event, a campaign should obtain a licence from performance rights organizations such as ASCAP and BMI in the United States (and SOCAN, in Canada) to comply with copyright law. Once that licence is secured, the campaign basically has blanket access to all the songs of the artists who have signed deals with the relevant performance rights groups.
That said, both ASCAP and BMI have special political licences that permit them to exclude a musical work from the campaign licence should they receive an objection from a songwriter or publisher. The legality of the political exemption is unclear.
In 2020, Neil Young filed a lawsuit against the Trump campaign for copyright infringement for its use of Rockin’ in the Free World and Devil’s Sidewalk. Young, who holds American and Canadian citizenship, later dropped the case.
He did give vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz permission to use Rockin’ in the Free World at the Democratic National Convention. Last week, he formally endorsed Harris in a post on his NYA Times-Contrarian website.
In 2020, the Democratic campaign playlist leaned heavy into music by Black artists, such as Sam Cooke (Good Times), Bill Withers (Lovely Day) and Stevie Wonder. When the Republicans went low, the Joe Biden/Kamala Harris ticket went Higher Ground. In 2024, Harris rolls with Beyoncé's Freedom.
According to one Canadian rocker, disputes over music are easily avoidable. “My common sense imagines that political parties would do a wee bit of research to see if the artist and/or writers of a song might be allies, or liabilities, to their cause,” said Rik Emmett, formerly of the Canadian trio Triumph.
Though an arena-ready Triumph song such as Fight the Good Fight would seem to be a natural for campaign usage, Emmett has never been approached by a political organization. “If anyone ever bothered to ask, I would tend to take a pass,” he said. “In a make-believe world of idealistic principles, I would try to have my creations remain apolitical, floating above, below and beyond the fray.
There is no shortage of other songs out there to suit the needs of political hopefuls seeking to use music to carry an idea and excite a crowd, however. Here are eight Canadian tunes that stay on message and have more power than a veto – no debate.
Serena Ryder’s Stompa: Armies have won wars on the kind of infectious energy this rocker brings.
Corey Hart’s Never Surrender: Ideal for a candidate trailing in the polls.
Haviah Mighty’s Champion: An inspiring track from the Polaris Music Prize-winning rapper. “My competition taking notes now, ‘cause I’m always ready to throw down.”
Tom Cochrane’s Life is a Highway: Built for victory speeches in balloon-filled ballrooms.
Trooper’s Raise a Little Hell: “If you don’t like what you got, why don’t you change it? If your world is all screwed up, rearrange it.” John F. Kennedy could not have said it better.
Drake’s Started From the Bottom: An underdog anthem if ever there was one.
Men Without Hats’ The Safety Dance: “We can dance if we want to.” Does the Libertarian Party of Canada need an anthem?
Bachman Turner Overdrive’s You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet: Ask not what Can Con can do for you, ask what Can Con can do for your country.